Chapter 7: Becoming Parents for the First Time

“Little Fifth Brother, your mother is so nice. Now we finally have real family. You have a father who loves you, a mother who dotes on you, and a big family with brothers and sisters.”

“Yeah, I’m really happy. I even found myself a third-generation military officer, a high-ranking official’s daughter as my wife. Had a big, healthy son at eighteen—isn’t that what you call a winner in life?”

“Haha… you’re killing me! You really are a winner in life. So, Mr. Winner, what’s your next goal?”

“...White rice and braised pork, honestly. You have no idea how that meal of coarse grains earlier got stuck in my throat—I couldn’t even straighten my neck. I still feel like I haven’t swallowed it down.”

Zhang Guoqing joked as he hurriedly got off the heated brick bed and put on his clothes. If he really stayed there waiting for his mother to serve him, he was afraid he’d be struck by lightning. Maybe the old Zhang Guoqing would’ve taken it for granted, but he just couldn’t do it now. With such a loving mother, all he wanted was to be a good son for the rest of his life.

Seeing that his mother wasn’t coming in right away, he quickly leaned over to kiss his wife. Hmm, looking at the now-younger Jiao Jiao, why did it feel like they’d just met again for the first time?

Zhou Jiao turned her head away, speechless as she looked at Zhang Guoqing. She hadn’t even washed her face since arriving here, her whole body sticky with sweat and the smell of blood. Even the quilt and underwear she was wearing were all from the original owner—when could she finally clean herself up?

She glanced at her son beside her—oh dear, where did those old clothes come from? Had they even been disinfected? And those ragged strips of cloth—were those really diapers?

Zhang Guoqing saw Zhou Jiao wrinkling her nose and glancing pitifully at their son, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. But what could he do? If nothing had happened, his wife and child would be in a private hospital right now, getting the best care, using the safest and most high-end supplies, with the country’s best maternity nurses and pediatricians on call.

Not like now, where he wanted to make a nourishing stew for Jiao Jiao but couldn’t. Even for this postpartum month, the best his mother could do was kill an old hen and make chicken soup for her for a week straight.

After they announced the good news, her family would send over more hens, eggs, and pig’s feet. If her family was too poor, like his second sister-in-law’s, then a bowl of rice porridge with a bit of brown sugar would already be a blessing.

Looks like tomorrow he’d have to figure out how to get some fish, pig’s feet, and brown sugar to nourish her. Just thinking about the supplements he’d stashed away—donkey-hide gelatin, bird’s nest, postpartum soup mixes, special meals, formula, baby supplies—made Zhang Guoqing grit his teeth in frustration.

Thinking of this, his eyes darkened, and he silently vowed never to give anyone else another chance. If he hadn’t cared about those blood ties back then, he would’ve dealt with them long ago, never giving them the chance to make trouble and let his wife and child suffer.

“Wife, just focus on resting and recovering. In a bit, I’ll ask Mom if you can use a hot towel to wipe yourself down. But don’t even ask about washing your hair—I know for sure that’s a no-go.

Tomorrow I’ll try to get some supplements from town to help you recover. There are some things I’ll tell you tonight when no one’s around—now’s not a good time.” Hearing footsteps approaching, Zhang Guoqing quickly blinked at Zhou Jiao to signal her.

He hurried out to the small sitting room to greet his mother. “Mom, I’ll take care of things myself. You’ve been busy all day, haven’t even rested—go sit down and take a break. You don’t need to stay up with us tonight, I can handle it. Just tell me everything I need to watch out for, and we’ll both remember.”

Mother Zhang looked at her youngest son with satisfaction. Only Little Five in the whole family knew she never stopped working, and he was the one most considerate of her. The eldest was a blockhead, always working silently. Filial, yes, but you could hardly get a word out of him. The second son just ate and went straight to bed, never even checking if his mother had slept yet.

“No, you two are still young—how can you take care of a baby properly? I wouldn’t feel at ease. I’ll just sleep lightly tonight. After you eat, have Jiao Jiao use hot water to apply a compress to her chest, massage it hard. If it hurts, tell her to bear with it. Once her milk comes in, wake your son up to feed. Try it first, I’ll go check if your dad’s asleep.”

“Okay, got it. If anything comes up, I’ll call you. Also, about the baby’s name—can you ask Dad if there are any taboos, and have him come up with a few options for us to choose from? As for the nickname, we’ll pick that ourselves. I’m afraid Dad will come up with something like ‘Dog Leftover’ or ‘Dog Egg’.”

“Alright, I’ll ask. Last time your dad said your nephews’ names were picked according to the family genealogy. He mentioned having your great-uncle, the scholar, take a look—there’s time for the formal name before the baby’s first birthday. Oh, I forgot to tell you—your nickname was ‘Dog Egg’ too, haha…”

Zhang Dayou heard his wife’s laughter from far away—so loud at night, was she trying to attract wolves? After a whole day, he was feeling tired; getting old really meant less stamina.

“Mother of my children, what’s got you so happy? Tell me so I can laugh too. You never stop all day long—aren’t you tired?”

“It’s nothing. Little Five asked me to check with you about the baby’s formal name. As for the nickname, he wants to pick it himself—he’s afraid you’ll call the kid ‘Dog Egg’ or ‘Dog Leftover.’ I told him, that was really his nickname, and you should’ve seen the silly look on his face!”

“That boy—his grandparents have called him Little Five since he could talk, where did the nickname come from? Time really flies, we’re getting old.”

“Yeah, all the kids are married now. As parents, we’ve done our duty. Once we split the family, we won’t have to work ourselves to the bone like when we were young. In the next few years, we’ll slowly save up to help the eldest—the eldest has three sons, and it’ll be tough for him and his wife to marry them off. We can’t expect his in-laws to help every time.”

“Mm, don’t worry. Those grandsons of mine are good boys. When the time comes, we’ll find a way. With his two uncles helping, I’m not worried. As for Little Five, I’m not worried either. That couple has plenty of savings, and if anything happens, Jiao Jiao’s grandfather can lend a hand. It’s the second son I’m worried about. He married the wrong woman—she’s nothing but trouble. They’re still young, and if they have more kids, he’ll have to support the whole family by himself.”

“We tried to get the second son to work in town, but it didn’t work out. I bet all the money they had saved has been squandered by his wife. They just had a big fight the other day. I was thinking, maybe we could ask his uncle to get him a job raising pigs for the production team. It’s easier than farm work, and when he’s busy, he won’t have time to gossip.”

“That’s good. If both of them work and do some carpentry on the side, we can help them build a house after the family splits up—they’ll be able to live well.”

“I used to worry most about Little Five, but now, just like his grandfather said, he’s really blessed. Don’t underestimate Jiao Jiao because she’s young—she’s got her head on straight.”

“Of course. That girl is a little genius. Most sixteen-year-old girls care about appearances, but she brought money with her and bought a sewing machine for the family right away—she knows how to live. And don’t think she only brought the dowry money. I heard Zhou Jiao owns a big courtyard house in Beijing, and her household registration is there. Her grandfather rents it out to the government, and the rent is kept for her. Then there’s her father’s pension—that’s all aboveboard. Her grandfather never took it, just saved it as her dowry. No matter how much Old Master Zhou wants to keep it, he can’t. That’s what the eldest son-in-law’s father said—he has a younger brother in the military district.”

“Her father, so her grandfather’s family is doing well. Why didn’t they take her back?”

“Who says they didn’t want to? It’s all just gossip from country women. From what my brother said, it was Old Master Zhou who wouldn’t let her go. He made excuses that Jiao Jiao’s mother didn’t have time to care for her—you know how unreliable her mother is. Plus, her grandmother has a bad heart. A couple of years ago, they tried to bring her back to Beijing, but then the news just stopped. This time, it was Old Master Zhou who had Jiao Jiao write a letter to her grandfather about the wedding. I bet he told them Jiao Jiao was engaged to Little Five since childhood.” After saying this, Father Zhang looked down on Old Master Zhou—everyone knew what he was up to. Zhou Jiao was his link to her grandfather’s family. Without her, how would he get any benefits in the future?

Mother Zhang wasn’t stupid either. Thinking it over, she realized there were advantages to Zhou Jiao not returning to the Lin family. She quickly told Father Zhang what Zhou Jiao had said earlier. Now even Father Zhang knew that Jiao Jiao must have figured it out too.

After hearing this, Father Zhang sighed and said, “Just stay out of it. Our Little Five is smart—let him handle it. You just pretend you don’t know anything, and don’t mention it to outsiders. If the family ever needs help from the Lin family, don’t ask Jiao Jiao to get involved. Blood ties are there, but let’s wait and see after Little Five writes to them and we get a reply. Besides, we’ll need her grandfather’s help to get the marriage certificate. Our Zhang family is going places—haha, we’ve really got ourselves a golden child.”"